A conventional brassiere comprises of a pair of breast cups intended to cover and support the breasts of the wearer, a connector securing together the inner edges of the cups at the wearer's cleavage, and at least one strap-like back or wing that extends from outer edges of the breast cups around the back of the wearer. The brassiere may further include shoulder straps that extend from upper edges of the breast cups over the shoulders of the wearer to attachment points on the strap-like back or wing crossing the wearer's back.
It is also standard to use an underwire to shape and support the lower periphery of each breast cup. An underwire typically consists of a U-shaped frame formed from metal or a rigid plastic material. Usually a pair of underwires is incorporated into a brassiere or similar undergarment to provide shape and support to a pair of breast cups. However, in some forms the underwire may comprise a single underwire frame which traverses both breast cups.
An underwire generally comprises a continuous planar piece of wire. Although underwires are typically formed from material providing a certain degree of flexibility to allow the underwire to assume the general shape of the wearer's figure by virtue of the forces applied to the underwire when the back strap or wings of the brassiere are fastened around the wearer's torso, the substantially rigid nature of the material used to form the underwire results in a less than even pressure being exerted on the wearer's figure causing discomfort. Efforts to make the underwire more flexible to improve comfort levels result in a corresponding loss of stabilizing function.
It would be desirable to maximise the wearer's comfort whilst at the same time providing enhanced support by providing an improved support structure.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having reference to the following specification together with its drawings.